JONI TABLE TALK, JUNE 29TH, 2025

SEGMENT 1: Allan & Corri Hunsperger - Faith Beyond Borders
SEGMENT 2: Harvey & Darlene Johnson -  Parenting Through Addiction

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Well, you know, the world may seem like it's getting
darker and the voices of deception louder, but there is
still hope. God's always at work and He's raised up
people for this very moment. Well, today's guests are pioneers
in Christian media. They're here to share how to stand
firm on truth no matter the circumstances. But before we
get to that, journey around the table is April Simons.

(00:45):
How are you?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
I am doing great. I'm glad for this todays. You know,
I heard a tape from my dad, a tape from
my dad in nineteen seventy eight, and he was talking
about fake news. Really you go, Daddy bay cool? So
your dad was John, That's right, isn't that something?

Speaker 1 (01:03):
He was way ahead of it.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
I had to rewind it and make sure.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
A candle. How are you?

Speaker 3 (01:09):
I am just so delighted to be here.

Speaker 4 (01:11):
And today I've been thinking about the word restoration, which
we'll hear something about restoration means better than original. When
God restores something, it's better than the original.

Speaker 3 (01:22):
So we'll hear about that today. I'm sure I love that.

Speaker 5 (01:25):
Dorothy, Hello, Hello, doing really good? And you know what
with God all things are possible.

Speaker 6 (01:33):
He is our.

Speaker 5 (01:33):
Everything, and he reveals himself daily that I've given us
the hope that we need for today and tomorrow. That's
good in future.

Speaker 6 (01:43):
Yeah, Oh, doing so good.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
See that smile, I mean, Dorothy smiles so big.

Speaker 5 (01:49):
Yeah. I have them, four of them, three of the
three of them three months, one year old, and a
two year old. And oh, my goodness, the joy of life.

Speaker 7 (01:56):
Truly, truly, you guys talked about it.

Speaker 5 (01:59):
Forever, and now I get to experienced.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
It's wonderful met and this one right here, Rachel has
giving me those joys, haven't you. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (02:08):
Two little boys, yep.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
One of them with blue, crystal blue eyes and one
of them with dark brown eyes.

Speaker 6 (02:15):
Very different. That's like you and your sister. Yeah, that's
we're opposite.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (02:19):
Maybe one more, but we don't know when, but not
right now.

Speaker 8 (02:25):
Nothing to announce, right.

Speaker 6 (02:29):
Sure, he's still thinking about it.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Cindy Murdock, how are you. I'm doing great, of course,
mentioneding grandchildren. Yeah, just returned from this from South Carolina
with the new baby, South Carolina and the hills of
North Carolina.

Speaker 9 (02:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Yeah, and little Princess into our lives with all our
little boys, and now it's great. We love her dearly
and had the blast of my time.

Speaker 6 (02:52):
That's awesome.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
But we're so glad to have Alan and Corey Huntsberger
at the table. Welcome you, to thank you all the
way from cold, cold Canada. They are trail blazers in
Christian media, from starting Christian radio in Canada fighting censorship.
They're here to share their own story inspire us to
stand strong in our faith. Alan, you have a career

(03:13):
in Christian media.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
You know.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
My late husband Marcus Lamb used to say, if you're
called to do that, you're going to have to really
have the ability to persevere in some of the darkest
times because the Bible says that he's the prince and
power of the air and so when you put the
good news of the Gospel through those airwaves, it's not
like he just says, Sarah claps his hand, good job, Alan.

(03:39):
So it's a battle, isn't it.

Speaker 10 (03:41):
Yeah. In fact, my spiritual father used to tell me.
He says, Alan, I don't think the devil likes you.
And I said, I think that's a good thing, right,
He said, yeah, that is a good thing.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
It's a good thing. So just quickly kind of go
through some of the pioneering that you did early on
there in Canada.

Speaker 10 (03:57):
Yeah. Well, in the early pioneering when I was a
youth pastor. I happened to be a youth pastor here
in the States and in Martinsville, Indiana, drove by our
radio station. The Holy Spirit told me to drive in,
and I'm going, why would I do that? So I
drove around the block three times and finally I said, Okay,
Holy Spirit, I'll go in there. So I went in
there and the reception said can I help you? And
I'm going, Dad, can she help me? And bottom line,

(04:21):
before the end of the day was all over, we
had a fifteen minute radio program where young people in
the youth group could come on the radio and say
why they love God and family. Because I was in
the early seventies when a lot of kids were you
criticized as being draft jodgers and all that kind of
thing with the Vietnam War. So that's how I got

(04:41):
started in radio. And then we moved back to Canada.
We thought we were going to go back there to be
pastor of a church, but really what God called us
back there to do was to start Christian radio and
I remember the day that my wife and I received
the vision of starting Christian in radio and Christian schools

(05:01):
and stuff, and I was like, sure, no problem. And
then I find out, well, it's against the long Canada.
I have a Christianity that is crazy suning and because
our premiere of our province when I was a child,
would be preaching on Sunday. So I couldn't fathom that.
But then I found out that there's been a law

(05:23):
since nineteen twenty one in Canada that you could not
have Christian radio Christian television in Canada. So censorship started
way back then.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
Yeah, and so how did that change? Was it an
overnight change?

Speaker 10 (05:36):
Yeah? I wish I thought it was going to be overnight.
It was God, we need radio yesterday. But it took
fifteen years joining that.

Speaker 3 (05:46):
Wow, fifteen years perseverance.

Speaker 1 (05:48):
It is so some people would have gone up and
given up and gone home, like after one or two years.

Speaker 10 (05:54):
Well about the thirteenth year, I was about ready to
give it up, and one of my pastor friends at
a pastor's meeting stood up and said, Alan's been fighting
for Christian radio and we haven't been praying for him,
so we need to go to his house and pray
for him. And I can still see my brother and

(06:15):
the Lord flat out on his stomach, hands before God,
praying God help us. And I remember that kind of
like rebirthed it right and gave it back to me.
And then two years later God did a miracle with
the legal authorities and we got Christian radio.

Speaker 6 (06:39):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (06:41):
Well, Corey, of course is your son, Yes, And now
they do they do a program together called Talk Truth
Talk right, that's right, Talk Truth. So Corey, you're raised
in this and you kind of see the miracles that
are happening, and yet you had an interesting and I
think it's going to encourage some of you that are

(07:01):
watching today, those of you that are watching right now,
that you're really believing for someone in your family that
has gone astray and maybe they're not serving the Lord,
maybe the don't want to have anything to do with God,
and you've just been praying for them. Well, I want
you to be encouraged today. And in fact, there's a

(07:22):
number coming on the screen, and I would love for
you to just call and just give the first name
of whoever that is, son, daughter, husband, wife, and uncle, cousin, coworker, mom, dad,
whoever it is that you're concerned about, because we want
to We're going to pray for them. We have wonderful
prayer partners that pray over all the prayer requests that

(07:44):
come through that number. So just right here at the
beginning of the program, call and give us that first name. So, Corey,
you're raised by this wonderful Man of God.

Speaker 3 (07:58):
You didn't think that at the time.

Speaker 11 (08:00):
That's what I'm saying, and that's what I've been saying,
is you know about my story is like you don't
understand when you're covered and your family covers you, and
you're born and raised in a Christian home and you
go to church and you know you you grew up
that way, so you think this is life right, and
you don't realize how amazing God is and how much

(08:20):
He covers you and protects you until.

Speaker 1 (08:21):
You walk away and you decided to do that. About
how old were you when that happened?

Speaker 7 (08:26):
College?

Speaker 6 (08:27):
So college?

Speaker 1 (08:28):
So you basically you said something earlier that was I
don't think I've ever heard anybody say I didn't want
any Basically, I didn't want anything to do with God
or for him to have anything to.

Speaker 6 (08:40):
Do with me.

Speaker 10 (08:41):
Yeah, Well, I don't think.

Speaker 1 (08:43):
Don't don't pray that, don't pray that. Okay, go ahead, Corey.

Speaker 7 (08:47):
Well, I will say this.

Speaker 11 (08:49):
When I went to college, I wanted nothing to do
with God, but I could not deny that God existed exactly.

Speaker 1 (08:56):
Okay.

Speaker 11 (08:56):
I've seen way too many miracles. I went on the
Mercy ships and did I had dts, you know, and
saw things in Africa that you just are one hundred
percent God.

Speaker 7 (09:06):
Doing miraculous science and wonders.

Speaker 11 (09:08):
So I always knew God existed. I just wanted nothing
to do with him.

Speaker 1 (09:13):
And that was because you wanted to kind of experience
things that you had never been able to experience before
I did.

Speaker 11 (09:20):
And I was angry. I was angry at the church.
I was angry at the way Christians would react.

Speaker 7 (09:25):
To one another.

Speaker 1 (09:26):
Well, I'm angry at how some Christians treated your dad.

Speaker 11 (09:29):
Absolutely, people that said that they're your friend and they
love you, you know, and then stab you in the
back when it doesn't go the way they think it
should go.

Speaker 7 (09:38):
That really turned.

Speaker 11 (09:39):
Me off of the church and how a lot of
Christian people act.

Speaker 1 (09:43):
And so you went off to college and you just
kind of, if you will, just kind of put God
on the shelf and said, I'm not going to have
anything to do with you right now.

Speaker 7 (09:53):
Yeah, absolutely anything.

Speaker 1 (09:55):
I know you're there, I know you exist, but I'm
going to do my own thing.

Speaker 6 (09:58):
And what did you do?

Speaker 11 (10:00):
I got into everything and anything, you know, con artists,
dealing from stores of drugs, alcohol, everything, partying, the whole thing.
Everything I wasn't allowed to do is growing up. And
it was fun for a while, super fun, super fun.

Speaker 1 (10:16):
Because what does the Bible say about that that sin
is is good for a CD?

Speaker 7 (10:21):
There a season?

Speaker 1 (10:22):
Yeah, so okay, So how long did that go on?

Speaker 7 (10:25):
Like a couple of years, my first three years of college?

Speaker 1 (10:28):
And so then what happened? Did you spiral?

Speaker 7 (10:31):
I did?

Speaker 11 (10:31):
I spiraled and it just wasn't fun anymore. And you know,
I just didn't want to live anymore because nothing filled
those gaps.

Speaker 7 (10:41):
That I was searching to be filled.

Speaker 11 (10:43):
Alcohol didn't, the party and didn't the money didn't fill
the emptiness I was feeling. I felt empty and nothing
could fill that spot.

Speaker 1 (10:52):
So Alan, did you know that Corey was going through this.
I'm sure you were praying. What would you say to
parents or friends or family that are watching that you know,
know there's something wrong, there's something going on. How would
you encourage him right now?

Speaker 10 (11:07):
We did. There'd be times we call him up on
the phone, and when we would hang up, my wife
and I would say to each other, he's hungover from
what happened last night, and we would pray for him.
I would say that what you got to keep doing,
no matter what is loved them. Yeah, you just got

(11:30):
to love them, you know. I mean they might say
all kinds of bad things about you, but you need
to love.

Speaker 7 (11:39):
Them, you know.

Speaker 1 (11:41):
And you did that. You went once a month right
to see him, and I think he wouldn't even let
his friends meet you. But you kept loving him.

Speaker 6 (11:50):
You kept putting love into.

Speaker 7 (11:51):
Action, right.

Speaker 10 (11:52):
I was so grateful that God, God worked a miracle.
God knew that Corey was going through that I was
in Toronto, he was in Springfield, Missouri.

Speaker 1 (12:01):
Wow.

Speaker 10 (12:02):
And with the job that I had with Crossroads Christian
Community Communications, I was able to go to Saint Louis
once a month, which was a couple hours away from
spring you know, Springfield, and so I'd make sure it
was on a Friday or Monday, and we'd spend the
weekend together. He never introduced me to any of his friends.

(12:25):
He never introduced me to show me where he lived.
Nothing to do with the college.

Speaker 1 (12:32):
So you didn't want dad come into your apartment, right?

Speaker 7 (12:34):
Oh yeah, no, absolutely not.

Speaker 1 (12:37):
And so you know you're in this kind of dark place.
But what did it mean to you looking back that
your dad still let you know, although you know he
would agree with your lifestyle, but that he loved you
through all of that.

Speaker 11 (12:51):
Yeah, it's really taught me a lot of how God
loves me.

Speaker 7 (12:58):
He really was a reflection.

Speaker 11 (13:00):
You know, we can go our separate ways from the Lord,
but God never stops pursuing us. He never stops loving us.
And I saw that through my dad and how he
treated me. He knew I wasn't fooling anybody, and he accepted.

Speaker 10 (13:14):
Me for who I was.

Speaker 1 (13:15):
Okay, so your final year of college, something happened. Tell
us about it.

Speaker 7 (13:19):
Finally year of college.

Speaker 11 (13:20):
I'm totally at my worst and I'm in my apartment,
Hi drunk, whatever pills you get at the at the
gas station, whatever I could get my hands on, and
I have a gun in my mouth and I'm about
to pull the trigger because I was it was over.

Speaker 7 (13:38):
Why even live anymore?

Speaker 11 (13:39):
And I hear this voice say, Corey stop right before
I squeeze the trigger, and I looked around the apartment.
There was nobody there. So I went back to putting
the gun in my mouth, pulling the trigger, and right
before I did again, Corey stop.

Speaker 7 (13:57):
So I stopped. And I realized this is this must be.

Speaker 11 (14:01):
That God thing that I used to hear about three
years ago. And I said, okay, God, I'm not missing around.
If you're real, you need to prove to me that
you are real.

Speaker 10 (14:12):
And he did.

Speaker 7 (14:12):
He showed up.

Speaker 1 (14:13):
How do you show up?

Speaker 11 (14:15):
I got a chance to go hear a speaker preach
and it was at college and they brought in someone
to talk and I didn't even know what he said.
I just went up to the front and because that's
what Christians do, go up to the altar and I
stood there.

Speaker 7 (14:30):
Even then, I didn't even really know how.

Speaker 11 (14:32):
To pray anymore, because it's like I had nothing to
do with it. And I went home that night not changed.
I go with the second night, do the same thing. Nothing,
And I go to the third night and as I'm
driving to the college, I'm thinking.

Speaker 7 (14:45):
Lord, don't test me in this. You're ticking me off.

Speaker 11 (14:48):
I am not leaving that altar until you change me.

Speaker 7 (14:54):
I'm not leaving.

Speaker 11 (14:55):
I don't care if they kick me out. I'm going
to sit outside the front door. I am not leaving
alter until you changed me. And so the speaker spoke.
I went down to the altar and all I knew
how to pray.

Speaker 7 (15:06):
Was change me, change me, change me, change me. That's
all I could say.

Speaker 11 (15:11):
And I'd stop into a check and I said, am
I changed? No, I still want to go party. I
still want to go mess it up with the boys.
So I said, change me. Don't take me off, Lord,
change me. I mean it, I'm serious. And then something happened.
I felt the presence this, this is like honey, warm honey,
just like falling from the top of my head down
my body.

Speaker 10 (15:30):
And it was changed.

Speaker 7 (15:31):
My voice was changing.

Speaker 11 (15:32):
It was now like change me, change me, mar change me.
And I stopped and I said, am I changed? And
I heard his voice and his voice said, yes, You're changed.
I went home that night, went to sleep, woke up
the next day. No desire for alcohol, no desire for drugs.
Haven't stolen anything from a store or lit or stole

(15:56):
God totally changed me completely without having to do rehab,
without having to do all these steps because he knew
I needed him to show up in a way that
never seen him show up for me before.

Speaker 1 (16:09):
So it was the supernatural thing. So when you woke
up the next morning, did you still feel change and
delivered and set free?

Speaker 10 (16:18):
Yeah?

Speaker 11 (16:18):
What I felt was it wasn't. I felt a weight lifted.
I felt the emptiness of my heart filled.

Speaker 7 (16:26):
I was joyful. I couldn't explain it.

Speaker 11 (16:29):
And the funny part is I went back to the
because it was a week long the pastor speaking, I
went back and he right before they started speaking, you know,
doing the message, he said, we want anybody that God
changed your life.

Speaker 7 (16:44):
We want you to come on down and just.

Speaker 11 (16:46):
Share what the Lord has done this week before we
get going. And the auditoriums full, fifteen hundred two thousand
students are there, and he said, anybody, And there was
this one guy sitting in front of me and he
looked at me.

Speaker 7 (16:58):
He must have seen me the night before, and he's
just kind of nudged. And I was still a bit
of a thug back then.

Speaker 11 (17:05):
I was like, turn around, you know, turn around, and
he did it again, and so I got up and
I went down to the front and the speaker gave
me a microphone, and so in front of two thousand students,
he said to me, so, what happened to you?

Speaker 7 (17:19):
What happened to you?

Speaker 11 (17:21):
I said, I came here three nights asked the Lord
to change me. Nothing happened except for last night. All
of a sudden he changed me.

Speaker 7 (17:27):
And now I'm changed.

Speaker 1 (17:29):
Wow.

Speaker 11 (17:31):
And then I let go and I went back and
then God did a move there like something happened in
the auditorium, and so he said, can we can we
get Corey to come back down here? Corey, can you
come back down? So I go back down and he said,
tell us again, what happened? I said, I came to
the altar. I asked God to change me. I told
the devil. I don't need your drugs. I don't need

(17:53):
your money, I don't need your lies, I don't need
your parties. I don't need anything but Jesus.

Speaker 7 (17:59):
All I need is Jesus. And that's what I said,
And that's what happened.

Speaker 11 (18:04):
And so the pastor sends up saying, that's an amazing story.

Speaker 7 (18:08):
If anyone else feels that way.

Speaker 11 (18:09):
And you feel right now you need Jesus, why don't
you come at the altar. And that night the Lord
did a move and everyone came up the altar. There
were two thousand students left at the altar.

Speaker 7 (18:20):
And he says on the microphone, and Corey's going to
pray for you. I don't know how to pray. I
just learned how to pray, like.

Speaker 1 (18:27):
Severely, got into the altar.

Speaker 7 (18:29):
But here's the point.

Speaker 11 (18:30):
The point is is God is always pursuing his kids. Yes,
doesn't matter what stage of life you're in. It doesn't
matter how old you are, it doesn't matter. God is
always on the move, slowly pursuing your Did.

Speaker 8 (18:44):
You see a change in him?

Speaker 10 (18:47):
Oh? Yeah, you know, you know when God returns right, you.

Speaker 1 (18:54):
Could see it even like in his eyes.

Speaker 10 (18:56):
Yeah, you know. And then of course is even now.
I mean I see it even more now with talk truth,
because you know, he'll I'm wanting to step back and
push him forward and he'll say, come on, Dad, I
want you to share.

Speaker 11 (19:15):
You know.

Speaker 10 (19:15):
It's like, oh my goodness, he's wanting me to share,
you know, because.

Speaker 1 (19:20):
A lot to share.

Speaker 10 (19:21):
Yeah, there were times in his life.

Speaker 1 (19:23):
I want to say, I want you to hear this.
You have you still have a lot of wisdom to
impart and you still have a lot to share. You're
still very young in everything that you've learned all these years.
God's wanting to use you as well with Corey. Okay,
so that's that's the word the Lord.

Speaker 10 (19:42):
Well, when when he says that to me, it's it's amazing.
When he and I are talking to somebody and ministering
to them, and we're ministering to them together, it's like
I'm in the clouds. Yes, I am actually in the
clouds because he has din and he has so much

(20:02):
talent and so much you know ability, now, you know.
Can we argue, yes, yes, Can we disagree yes, you know,
And there's times that we go sometimes we don't even
say I'm sorry anymore. The next time we meet each other,
it's like nothing happened, you know, we just carry on.

Speaker 6 (20:23):
You just don't take offense.

Speaker 10 (20:24):
No, we don't take offense because.

Speaker 1 (20:26):
You love him that much and you love him.

Speaker 11 (20:28):
Yes, yeah, and both our hearts are in the right place.
We just have creative differences, I guess.

Speaker 10 (20:33):
Well, and we have we have strength that God gave
that's in the genes.

Speaker 1 (20:40):
So there you go.

Speaker 2 (20:41):
You know, I appreciate that you didn't give up and
I heard a pastor say the other day, I'm going
to love my kid no matter what. My door's always
open for him. And you see, God did the exceedingly
abundantly in your life. And I heard somebody else say this,
your grandmother's prayers are still working. So shout out to
you for keeping on keeping on. And I know there's
people watching that are just about it that place where

(21:04):
I don't think it's going to happen. Nothing good is
going to come with my child.

Speaker 1 (21:08):
They're getting too far gone.

Speaker 2 (21:09):
What would you say to that one parent that feels
like giving.

Speaker 1 (21:11):
Up right now?

Speaker 10 (21:12):
Well, the Bible says, you know, train up a child
in the way you should go, and when he's old,
he'll not depart. The problem is, the Bible doesn't say
how old old is.

Speaker 6 (21:21):
I could be old old.

Speaker 10 (21:25):
You have no idea.

Speaker 1 (21:26):
You still wanted to be alive to see exactly you
want to.

Speaker 10 (21:29):
Be alive to see it. But that that's not the problem.
The promise is when he gets old, yeah, it'll change.
And I believe that with all my heart. You know,
you just have to you just have to be willing
to allow the Holy Spirit the book.

Speaker 4 (21:43):
You know, Corey, you said something about the hole in
your heart, and we try to fill that before we
know the Lord. With all of the things you did,
the drugs, alcohol, everything and what it does, it makes
a whole get bigger. And that hole can only be
filled by God. And when you brought God into that
place in your heart, you didn't need anything else. Yes,

(22:05):
And I just love the way you kept loving him.
I think that parents need to have a self landing
that's filled with love for the day when that child
does come back or come home, there's a self landing
for them.

Speaker 3 (22:17):
I an thank you for that.

Speaker 8 (22:18):
I think it's cool that you encountered God in that
way and surrendered to him at the altar, Because could
you imagine if you hadn't all of those other two
thousand young kids a couple of days later, like how
your yes affected their destiny? How many lives have you
impacted just from that one moment.

Speaker 10 (22:38):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (22:38):
Absolutely.

Speaker 11 (22:39):
And I also got to say that God knows us,
he knows our heart, he knows I was being stupid
in college. And here's what's great about God. He protected
me from doing something so dumb. Yes, I couldn't recover
from it.

Speaker 1 (22:57):
So true. You know, Alan, when you heard that and
I'm sure at some point you told your dad that
you got so discouraged that you had a gun. Yes,
when you heard that, that had to just shock you
to think that he would get to that point.

Speaker 10 (23:11):
Not really, because the same thing happened to me when
I was twenty. Really, I thought that I had screwed
up so bad in my Christian life that there was
nothing left. And I went to a canyon at four
o'clock in the morning, and alls I would have had
to do was let myself go. And I was standing
at the canyon, and Corey knew about this standing at

(23:35):
the canyon, and believe it or not, God did not
say don't jump. God said, Alan, there's going to be
better days ahead.

Speaker 1 (23:46):
And that's what you needed to hear.

Speaker 10 (23:48):
Yeah, and I walked away. See, all of his life
he lived under the shadow of me.

Speaker 3 (23:55):
Lots of expectations.

Speaker 10 (23:57):
Yes, So when you think about that on any child, yeah, right.
And I think those of us that are in the
ministry have to realize that you just got to love them.
I think the parable of the prodigal son is named wrong.
I think it needs to be the parable of the
loving Father, because the father had two sons and both

(24:22):
of them needed the father's love.

Speaker 6 (24:25):
That's right, that's so good. That's so good.

Speaker 1 (24:27):
Well, we're going to pray with you on you to
stay right there. I'm gonna take a little break when
we come back. We're going to price to stay right there.

Speaker 12 (24:35):
Imagine facing a storm so vast it threatens to engulf
everything you've built. Would you falter or would you find
strength you never knew.

Speaker 1 (24:43):
You had when a hurricane is tearing through your life.
Jesus is the peace that steals the waters of your soul.

Speaker 12 (24:51):
This is a tale of navigating life's fiercest tempests and
discovering that sometimes the most profound truths are born in
the heart of the storm. Your copy now at joonylamb
dot com slash shop.

Speaker 1 (25:05):
Welcome back everyone. When we do want to pray with you,
especially those of you been watching and you can relate
to Corey's story and maybe you've never prayed, or maybe
you have prayed before, but you're not where you need
to be with the Lord Corey. Will you take a moment,
address them and get them to pray with you, and
we'll repeat after you.

Speaker 11 (25:21):
Absolutely, God is real, He loves you, and he desires
to have a relationship with you. He knows you better
than you know yourself or even your parents know you.
He knows your heart, he knows your mind, he knows
your dreams, and he wants.

Speaker 7 (25:39):
A relationship with you.

Speaker 11 (25:40):
Let's pray, Heavenly Father, Heavenly Father, come into my life,
my life.

Speaker 7 (25:47):
Forgive me of my sin.

Speaker 1 (25:48):
Forgive me my sin.

Speaker 7 (25:50):
Wash me clean, marsh clean. Let me know who you are.

Speaker 6 (25:55):
Let me know who you are in Jesus name Jesus.

Speaker 1 (26:00):
And you know it's that simple. Always talk about my
grandpa praying at nineteen at a tulin' di meal on
a Monday morning at the water fountain in Greenville, South Carolina.
And he didn't know anything about God or how to pray.
He just said, God, if you're there, I need you.
And God transformed his life and change the trajectory of

(26:22):
our family. I know somebody was sitting stable April, your dad,
same thing.

Speaker 7 (26:26):
God.

Speaker 1 (26:26):
He prayed a simple prayer, invited the Lord, and changed
his life. And he wants to do that for you.
For those of you that prayed that prayer, I want
you to go to the phone right now and let
us know that because we want to pray with you.
And also I'd love to send you. The Gospel of
John is a great place to start in the Word
of God. And it's a new day for you, just
like it was for Corey. God has so much more

(26:47):
for you. While we're out of time. I want you
to remember that God is in the business of restoration
and healing and deliverance.

Speaker 6 (26:54):
He wants to do that for you today.

Speaker 1 (26:56):
He still saves the loss, restores relationships every situation, and
all you have to do is call on the name
of the Lord. Just say Jesus, I need you now,
and I promise you he will show up again. If
you prayed that prayer, call the number on the screen,
or if you just need prayer today. We have prayer

(27:17):
partners that are standing by ready to pray with you.
I want to thank Alan and Corey for joining us.
For more information, you can visit them online at go
talktruth dot com and is always make sure to followus
on all social media. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for
full episodes exclusive content. Let us know how table Talk
is touching your life. We love hearing from you. You
can also listen to the Johnie Table Talk podcast, available

(27:39):
now on all major platforms. But I want to thank
you so much for watching. I want to think most
of you that you stopped, you sat down, you listened,
and God has opened up your heart and you know
that He has a future for you and all you
have to do is surrender and say yes. He's just
looking for your yes. And I'm just going to tell
you in the days ahead, there are going to be

(28:00):
doors that are going to open that have been closed,
and there are going to be opportunities that you've wanted
that God's going to bring across your path. And it's
going to be because of your obedience and surrendering your
heart and your life to Him. And I'm excited about that.
Thank you so much for watching. Thank you ladies, Thank
you Alan and Corey. Love you guys and appreciate you
being here today, and.

Speaker 10 (28:20):
We love you.

Speaker 1 (28:22):
I'm excited about what all God has for you. The
best is yet to come. We'll see you next time.

Speaker 9 (28:26):
By bye for today.

Speaker 1 (28:54):
Well, you know many parents know the heartbreak of loving
a prodigal child, watching from a distance as they make
pain choice is wondering if they'll ever return home. Well,
today's guests have been in that place and are here
to share how release and control and trusting God can
be the key to true healing. But before we get
to that, join me around the table is a very
eloquent doctor Doug Wise. This is a subject that is real,

(29:17):
it's near and dear to your heart.

Speaker 13 (29:19):
Yes, I mean, I've seen so many parents in churches
who have prodigal parents, even pastors who it's kind of
like they're in a secret pain and they're kind of
bleeding quietly.

Speaker 14 (29:30):
And this is a huge topic. I'm glad we're talking
about it.

Speaker 1 (29:33):
We're going to pray for them to be set free,
release those kids and see them come to Jesus.

Speaker 14 (29:37):
Amen.

Speaker 13 (29:38):
But also even if they come back, the parents still
have to heal. Yeah, it's real pain that.

Speaker 5 (29:43):
They go through, right, Dorothy Need, how are you feeling great?

Speaker 6 (29:46):
Good?

Speaker 10 (29:47):
Yes?

Speaker 6 (29:47):
Sitting between you guys.

Speaker 1 (29:49):
I know that you and I both have friends that
we've seen, you know, have sons and daughters that.

Speaker 6 (29:56):
Yeah, track, it's such a hord horror topic.

Speaker 5 (30:00):
But the amazing thing is that nothing is too hard for.

Speaker 1 (30:03):
God, you know, and it's it's I've.

Speaker 5 (30:06):
Just listened to so many stories that and I've been
encouraged through their walk, and so I'm excited about what
we're getting here today. Because I know it will help
and set somebody free.

Speaker 1 (30:16):
Yeah, here's my girl, Rachel amb Brown.

Speaker 2 (30:18):
How are you.

Speaker 6 (30:19):
I'm good.

Speaker 1 (30:19):
You know you're sitting around the table right now, that's.

Speaker 6 (30:24):
Ready to say.

Speaker 8 (30:25):
I have two little boys, and I always joke around
with my oldest Judah and I and I say we
always be Mommy's baby, and.

Speaker 6 (30:32):
He'll say, okay, I'll always be.

Speaker 8 (30:34):
And I said, even when you're taller than me and
stronger than me, someday will you be my baby?

Speaker 6 (30:38):
And he said, I will always be your baby.

Speaker 1 (30:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (30:41):
And I can't imagine as a mom or a parent
having to walk through something like this, and I hope
that I never do.

Speaker 6 (30:49):
But we're going to learn today.

Speaker 1 (30:51):
You can get an emotional thinking about it, but at
the end of the day, you train him up, but
he has to make a choice, and you can't take
responsibility for his choices. Yeah, it's like I couldn't take
responsibility for your choices. You had a little moment, you
kind of veered off and came.

Speaker 10 (31:04):
Back right a little.

Speaker 6 (31:08):
I think you're all right, see the word, like.

Speaker 1 (31:10):
How are you? I'm doing well? Thank you? You know.
It makes me think about my mom and dad with
my two brothers who were prodigal sons and prodigal brothers.
But through the years they went through a lot of hardship,
but through the years they came to know Jesus Christ
as their savior. Yeah, and I'm rejoicing that they were
welcomed back wonderfully and happily back. And we got at

(31:33):
the table Harvey and Darlene Johnson, who have dealt with
a prodigal We're going to tell your story. So so
thankful for to have you here today. Thank you, thank
you for having the bravery and the courage to share
your story. Well, surrendering to God's timing as a parent
can be incredibly challenging, especially when you want your child
make choices that lead them down the wrong path. Well,

(31:55):
Harvey and Darling Johnson are here to share a beautiful
message of hope for parents facing these challenges. You know,
your story is not, Darlene, an overnight story. This is
a long journey that you were on with your son.
But take us back to growing up. What was he
like as a little boy and growing up did you

(32:15):
ever think you'd be in these type of circumstances.

Speaker 6 (32:18):
Not at all. He was a wonderful child.

Speaker 15 (32:20):
He was a mama's boy, of course, and just he
would sit and play for hours.

Speaker 6 (32:25):
He never cried much.

Speaker 15 (32:26):
He was I would say, if you could have a
perfect child, he was close to perfect.

Speaker 1 (32:31):
And so what happened? When did the turn happen? Did
he get in the wrong crowd?

Speaker 6 (32:35):
What it was in?

Speaker 15 (32:36):
Yes, he did, and it was in his early teens,
fourteen fifteen years old, getting with the wrong crowd and
of course being mama, you know, I'm always there trying
to bell him ount.

Speaker 1 (32:47):
So was there was there church? God element a part
of your family at that point? Was yeah? So would
he go to church?

Speaker 6 (32:54):
She did?

Speaker 15 (32:54):
Yeah, he did, And he seemed to adapt well in
any situation. He was a follower and he wanted to
be accepted that he once he got in with the
wrong crowd, he just got lured in and it was
like there was nothing we could do, nothing we could say.
It was a twenty four to seven heartache that never stopped.

Speaker 1 (33:14):
Did you ever talk about it like at church or
did you ever tell anybody just keep it and.

Speaker 15 (33:18):
Not because back then that was a long time ago.
You don't talk about it. You sweep it under the
rug and you deal with it. So there was a
lot of shame and guilt because I didn't want anybody
to know. You know, it's still around other parents and
their kids are doing great, and then there's your son.

Speaker 1 (33:35):
So is this a common thing that happens with parents
to shame beget.

Speaker 13 (33:41):
Absolutely When you have a prodigal you can't be proud
to talk about them, and you don't want anybody asking
you questions about them, So you move from the first
pew to the fifth few to the last pew, and
oftentimes you will leave church because you don't want people
to be asking you questions about the worst pain that
you've ever experienced.

Speaker 8 (33:58):
And has a mommy probably want ever attack your kids?

Speaker 13 (34:00):
Yeah, you don't want to shame them either, but yeah, so,
but this is a huge problem and there's nothing out
there for them other than we'll pray for your little Bobby, okay,
And they don't realize that this is trauma, this is hurt,
this is grieving. Twenty four to seven, You know, for
your helpless and.

Speaker 14 (34:20):
You are helpless. You are helpless as a parent.

Speaker 5 (34:23):
So Darling, you know, was mentioning that you know she
would help and help I mean, was she not supposed
to let them hit rock bottom?

Speaker 14 (34:33):
Now I'll let her answer that.

Speaker 13 (34:34):
Now, what do you think now, now that you've gone
through the materials, would you have done it differently had
you had that twenty years ago.

Speaker 15 (34:42):
Yes, the first time he got arrested, I would probably
let him set in jail. Okay, i'd be the second time,
because I think you show grace and mercy a little bit.
Everybody makes mistakes, but after about the third, fourth, fifth time,
and people trying to tell you constantly.

Speaker 1 (34:57):
It's hard to let go so hardly.

Speaker 6 (35:00):
But what if he changes this time?

Speaker 8 (35:02):
So do you think parents that are trying to help
their kids are actually enabling them and prolonging?

Speaker 13 (35:10):
Yeah, let's talk to someone who did it for twenty
six years professionally.

Speaker 6 (35:13):
Yes, yes, all right.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
So let's just tell everybody what happens. I love this
part of the story. Yeah, table talks in this story.
That's your watch here right now. Okay, So take us
back to that morning you were watching the show.

Speaker 15 (35:27):
I had been through a lot of healing classes at
church small groups and doing great, but it was like
there was something missing. I wanted more. God, show me
what has happened here. It's just like something was missing.
So I got up this morning and of course I
watched Joni Table Talk every morning. And my mentor called
me that morning and she was right after COVID and
she said, Darlene, are you watching Joni? And I said,

(35:50):
I'm turning it on now. She said, there's a doctor
Doug wiss On there that has just written a book.
You really need to consider ordering this. I think this
will help you. And so imediate Leah. I got online.
I ordered the book, the work book and the DVD
and so took myself through the class and I was amazed.
I mean it was like Jesus jumped off the pages

(36:12):
in this book.

Speaker 1 (36:13):
I know you the book of course, the Prodigal Parent Process,
Doug you wrote, and then the DVD's almost four hours
and he takes you through each like almost like you're
in accounting session. And then you've got the work book.
But what was it about this product? The Prodigal Parent
processes again for the parents to understand their role in

(36:35):
all this. And yes, we we want to pray for
your children, and we'll do that, and there's a number
coming up on the screen you can call and leave
their name. We're going to pray for them. But what
was it about this that helped you so much. I
know there were several parts.

Speaker 15 (36:49):
Of it, well it was like you had a counselor
there in the room explaining what you had been through.
But it was it was like Jesus was talking to me.
In the first chapter when we learn about God being
the first prodigal parent, that really hit me because he
didn't chase his children, he didn't run after them, He

(37:10):
allowed them free will. I learned the power of free will.
That was the first thing. And then of course every
chapter gets deeper and deeper, and it touches on the
marriage the siblings, and it was the most amazing teaching
that I have ever been through.

Speaker 1 (37:27):
So what about the trauma aspect? I know he talks
about that, and this.

Speaker 15 (37:30):
Is what when I got to that part, and I
had been in Christian counseling, and I knew God that
I diagnosed myself because it had never been mentioned to
me about the grief, the trauma much less PTSD than
never entered my mind. But every symptom was me. And

(37:51):
I realized what had happened to me. And I mean,
it was so emotional, but it was so beautiful too
to finally have an answer. And I thought God, if
I'm suffering this and I'm understanding this, how many more
of me is they're out there that don't know this?

Speaker 1 (38:08):
How did you? Was there a prayer that you pray
to release or surrender at some moment as you're going
through this process.

Speaker 15 (38:15):
I think I prayed through the entire book, just asking
God to show me, to give me revelation. So I
started having revelation after revelation, and it was like the
Bible came to life for me. And I've never had
that happen because, like you said, doctor Doug, people say
I'll pray for you, and that's wonderful.

Speaker 14 (38:37):
But more than that, but when I.

Speaker 6 (38:38):
Go home, I need healing. How do I heal from this?

Speaker 13 (38:42):
Yeah, Harvey, what happened after your wife went through this process?
Did she become how did she become different? And how
did the marriage become different?

Speaker 10 (38:49):
Naturally?

Speaker 16 (38:50):
Our marriage got better and better and better. Is she
went through these courses and she learns that it's just
like you do teaching. You learn from teaching. And she's
just been a phenomenal job trying to educate herself and
share share her problems with other people and griefs well.

Speaker 1 (39:14):
And she absorbed the truth that she was hearing. Yes,
I know, I do like that. When I'm on the
table we've got people, I feel like I just is absorbed.
Then I want to share and help everybody learned so much.
It touched you so much and impacted you so much.
You went to your pastor's wife. And what happened?

Speaker 6 (39:31):
I did.

Speaker 15 (39:31):
They had a prodigal and I introduced this to her
and she went through the teaching and she was amazed,
and she spent a ministry all of her life and
she said, Darling, this has revolutionized my thinking. And I
said me too. I said, I think we need to
launch a small group.

Speaker 14 (39:48):
And what happened? How many people shut up?

Speaker 6 (39:50):
Forty three three small?

Speaker 13 (39:55):
I want to launch a small group of forty three people.

Speaker 8 (39:59):
That just shows you that need.

Speaker 15 (40:03):
That kept coming in And I was like, how many
of may is there out there?

Speaker 6 (40:07):
And they're just that's just here in one church?

Speaker 1 (40:10):
Yeah?

Speaker 10 (40:10):
Wow, you know.

Speaker 6 (40:11):
So it was very emotional.

Speaker 1 (40:13):
So so Doug, take a moment, if you will, and
just talk to that parent that has carried the load
of that prodigal, and we're going to talk a little
bit about the sibling in just a moment, because that's important.
But the parent that has shame and guilt if I've
done this, if I done that, that's what that is.
From the enemy.

Speaker 6 (40:31):
He is the accuser.

Speaker 1 (40:33):
He is the one that accuses you and tells you
you came up short and you didn't know.

Speaker 6 (40:36):
There's no perfect parent, that's for sure. But this will
set you free. What you're going to share it?

Speaker 13 (40:41):
Yeah, absolutely, you know, because Christians we have this kind
of like cause and effect when it comes to parent
We think if we do everything right that our kids
are guaranteed to come out right.

Speaker 14 (40:50):
That's not true. It's free will.

Speaker 13 (40:52):
God was perfect and he got poor results, okay, and
so and then there's these awful parents who end up
having this as a radical transformation in Jesus and becomes
a world changer.

Speaker 1 (41:03):
So yeah, these parents that aren't even saved.

Speaker 14 (41:06):
Mine wasn't saved.

Speaker 1 (41:07):
When they they haven't, they meet somebody who tells them
about Jesus. It transforms to your life and the parents
to do it.

Speaker 7 (41:13):
That's right.

Speaker 13 (41:14):
So you don't get credit either way, but don't take
credit for their poor decisions. Okay, that's on them, and
this prodigal process is on them one hundred percent. Read
Romans one and you'll find out what I'm talking about.
So please, if you need help with the false guilt,
if you're feeling ashamed, you not only get the product,
give us a call and let's pray for you, because

(41:35):
you don't need to be alone. Starter group being a group,
I mean the group process. How was that when you
were in that you already went through material? How is
that for you and your continued healing? And how much
healing did you see in these other people?

Speaker 6 (41:47):
Oh? It was amazing.

Speaker 15 (41:48):
And one thing that we do at the end of
our teaching is we bring in, because we have access
in our church to recovery, we bring in I'll bring
my son in, a couple of his friends, maybe a
couple of ladies that have gone through recovery. We have
a celebration at the end of the class celebrating the
prodigals that have come home, and we give the group
an opportunity to ask them questions.

Speaker 6 (42:10):
And that was real.

Speaker 15 (42:11):
Powerful because you've got a parent sitting there that their
child is still out there. So to be able to
look at that child that was a prodigal that came
home and be able to ask them a question, it's
real powerful.

Speaker 10 (42:24):
And you guys.

Speaker 13 (42:24):
I mean, how does it feel to have other people
praying for your prodigal? You know, because you guys do
that as well we do. And then when they come
home what happens to the group.

Speaker 15 (42:34):
Oh, it's amazing because I encouraged them to have a
James five sixteen prayer partner throughout the teaching and we
exchange cards with a prodigal's name. So for twelve or
sixteen weeks, you've got someone praying standing in the gap
for your prodigal, calling that name out loud, and that's
so important.

Speaker 1 (42:53):
That's so good. Well, we've got to hear about Chad.
So you finally, you finally released him to God. And
that's what we're talking about today. We're talking about do
you really trust God with that son or daughter or
that grandchild. I know I've seen calls today from grandmother's
calling about their grandchildren. They're very concerned. But have you

(43:15):
really released them to God? Because that's the key right there.
And it's so hard to do. And I can say this
as a mother, it's so hard to release and believe
God's to do what only he can do. But you
finally did that. Tell us about the incident around that
when you finally said no, it was the first time
you ever said no to Chad.

Speaker 6 (43:32):
Sure he was in his recovery.

Speaker 15 (43:34):
He had gotten real sick and they had taken him
to a nearby hospital and he called me one night
and he said, Mom, I'm at the hospital.

Speaker 6 (43:41):
You need to come get me. And I said, what's wrong?

Speaker 15 (43:44):
And he said, I'm broke out from head to toe
and I think I'm dying. Will you please come get me?
And for a split second I was almost like, oh
my gosh, I've got to go get him. The two
kids had walked out of the bedroom and were sitting
on the floor and I looked at them and they
were crying, and I thought, no, how much longer do
we have to live like this? And I said, son,
I am not coming to get you, and he was

(44:06):
irad on the phone and I'm going to die. And
I said, listen, you're at a hospital. If anything happens.

Speaker 1 (44:13):
When you talk about manipulation, right, the manipulation, manipulator, of manipulator,
And I woke up.

Speaker 6 (44:21):
And I may not pass it.

Speaker 1 (44:22):
I may.

Speaker 6 (44:22):
I woke up and I was at the hospital.

Speaker 15 (44:24):
I had had a mental breakdown, thinking that if I
didn't go get him. It would be my fault. That's
how much guilt that I carried in this.

Speaker 1 (44:32):
But you didn't. But you didn't go get him.

Speaker 15 (44:34):
Didn't go get him, and he got out, went back
into the program.

Speaker 1 (44:38):
Back in to see you would have just delayed.

Speaker 6 (44:41):
I would start to hear him.

Speaker 1 (44:43):
So what happened when he went into the.

Speaker 6 (44:45):
Pro he was miraculously healed.

Speaker 15 (44:47):
His counselors called me and said, miss Johnson, you need
to come visit your son. Because I told him I
wasn't coming to visit him. There was a lot of
anger involved in this. And they called me again, said
miss Johnson, we really think you need to come visit
your son. There's been an Apostle Paul transformation. And I
was like, yeah, all right, but I'm going to go

(45:07):
one more time.

Speaker 6 (45:08):
So I load up the kids and here we go.

Speaker 15 (45:11):
I pulled up that day and he was standing at
a picnic table and it was like there was a
glow around him, and I thought, something looks different. So
he hands me a letter in an envelope and he says, Mom,
when you get home tonight, read this. And it was
a letter of forgiveness. And we never even thought about
forgiving each other. It was so bad by then. But

(45:32):
I read the letter that night and it was so toxic.
The relationship at that point. Well, you know, I was codependent.
We were you know, I was his enabler and I
was controlling, and it was it was just a mess.

Speaker 1 (45:45):
So you start reading the letter, what happened broke because
kind of thing City says to you in there.

Speaker 15 (45:51):
Just asking me to forgive him for specific things. Thank
you for taking the children. You know, God has touched
my life. You know his kids. I had his children.
You were full time caregiver.

Speaker 6 (46:03):
We were a full time for several.

Speaker 1 (46:04):
Week because the mother. The mother had addictions, she was awful.
He had all his issues, and so you had taken
on the two grandchildren.

Speaker 6 (46:13):
Yes, Harvey had a business to run.

Speaker 15 (46:14):
I had a career, and we didn't know anything about daycare.
And we thought, you know, we were dreaming and planning
our future. And then all of a sudden, I get
a phone call that the kids had been taken to
DHR in Mississippi.

Speaker 6 (46:28):
So I look at Harvey and I go, what do
we do?

Speaker 15 (46:31):
And he says, go get those babies, go get them,
we'll figure it out.

Speaker 10 (46:35):
Wow.

Speaker 15 (46:35):
So I went and got the children came home and
became mother instead of grandmother.

Speaker 1 (46:41):
You know, I think about when you took Chad to
the rehab place or the place where you dropped him off.
The thing that spoke to me too was when you
drove away, you saw those crosses and you made a
commitment to God. You were releasing him right, You weren't
going to pick it up anymore.

Speaker 3 (47:02):
You gave him totally to God.

Speaker 1 (47:04):
He laid it at the cross.

Speaker 6 (47:05):
I did.

Speaker 15 (47:06):
He laid him at the cross, and it was basically
a prayer that said, God, help me, and help us,
and take my son. You gave him to me, I'm
giving him back to you one hundred percent. And on
the drive home, I started seeing crosses and that got
me back in church and started my recover. But he
did look at me and say, Mom, when you go home,
start your recovery. And I said to him, there's nothing

(47:28):
wrong with me except you.

Speaker 6 (47:32):
That it was that bad. It was that bad, but there.

Speaker 1 (47:36):
Was a lot that God needed to do in your
heart and your life. I mean, you finally opened up
and let God begin to do this work in you.
Because you know, as parents done, people don't realize or
these parents are even watching don't realize some of the
trauma they've gone through that they need to release and
be healed from.

Speaker 10 (47:55):
U's right.

Speaker 13 (47:56):
And so yeah, in the parent product, the anger, work
with stuff and looking at you know, even the marriage
because you blame each other, you know, for what's going on.

Speaker 14 (48:06):
And then also the repairing of the siblings.

Speaker 13 (48:08):
You know, you could talk about that for a second,
you know, because there was this other child too that
was watching everything.

Speaker 6 (48:16):
Tell us about your daughter.

Speaker 15 (48:17):
Have a daughter, Amber, and she's precious, and she sat
back and watched all of this, but she never said anything.
I had no idea the rejection she suffered, the trauma
she suffered, because.

Speaker 1 (48:28):
You're focusing all your attention on this problem over here.

Speaker 15 (48:31):
Yeah, all my tension day and night is a twenty
four to seven trauma.

Speaker 6 (48:36):
I mean it never stopped.

Speaker 1 (48:37):
And Harvey, was that debilitating for you to watch her suffer?

Speaker 5 (48:41):
Well?

Speaker 14 (48:41):
Absolutely, yes.

Speaker 3 (48:45):
You probably felt helpless at times how to help her?

Speaker 16 (48:48):
Right, I wasn't enabled or enabling her to enable actually yeah,
but to save my marriage. I'd argue with her, but
it didn't do it. You know, you always want went
over look. I kept telling her what when he falled
down out in the middle of Highway nine.

Speaker 14 (49:08):
He ate out there.

Speaker 16 (49:10):
Just let him get up herself and dust his bridges
off and get home with his life.

Speaker 1 (49:15):
That's kind of a Southern way of saying it is
that the truth, That is the truth. He just let
him fall down in highway Nanny and end up and.

Speaker 6 (49:23):
Pull the breeches out.

Speaker 13 (49:24):
You know, in the scripture, the father never left his
own house and chased his son, and that's a hard
thing to do.

Speaker 1 (49:32):
He was always looking for him to be believed.

Speaker 13 (49:35):
But he didn't get involved. And it's okay for it
to be that way. And men tend to know that
intuitively because we're men.

Speaker 14 (49:43):
Especially if it's a son that's a parker. Now if
it's a girl, it switches.

Speaker 13 (49:47):
He's the one going out and rescuing her and you say, no,
you need to let her fall.

Speaker 9 (49:51):
No, no, no.

Speaker 13 (49:52):
It's a cross gender thing because when you're a dad,
you can do anything for your little girl, and your
mom you can do it through your baby boy, right,
and so it it works both ways, and so but
it is. It causes intention in the family, causes attention
to marriage because your daughter not only was dealing with
her pain, she was watching you being pain and watching
you not have enough energy for her, and she was

(50:14):
watching the little tips you guys going through and thinking, Dad,
come on, you know, help here, you know, because Mom's wrong.

Speaker 1 (50:21):
So she got to share these feelings and emotions with
you that had gone on for years, and God was
able to open up your heart in her heart for
reconciliation and just a talk that needed to happen.

Speaker 6 (50:36):
And this just happened a year ago.

Speaker 15 (50:38):
So we're twelve years and I'm twelve years into my recovery.

Speaker 6 (50:41):
Wow.

Speaker 15 (50:41):
And so I had been to visit her in Birmingham
and was driving home and when I left, she called
me and she said, Mom, can I have a transparent
conversation with you about what has happened to me the
last few years?

Speaker 6 (50:52):
And I said, sure you can.

Speaker 15 (50:54):
So she began to open up and say things to
me that she said, you know, I love you.

Speaker 6 (51:00):
You've been a wonderful mom.

Speaker 15 (51:01):
But I feel visible, invisible, and I mean it was amazing.
We were on the phone for an hour and the
only thing I said when we before we hung up,
I said, I don't even know what to say, except
will you forgive me? Because I'm not who I used
to be?

Speaker 1 (51:18):
Would she say.

Speaker 15 (51:19):
She said, of course I will. I love you and
you were a good mom, but I just missed you.

Speaker 1 (51:24):
Wow. So what does it do for a child when
you're able to say that?

Speaker 13 (51:28):
In the parent pradical process, we talked about the you know,
the in the parcical story, there's the other brother, right,
and he saw Dad cry, he saw Dad on the
porch pacing, and they go through their own process of
grieving and pain, but they lose a percentage of their
parent in the process, and so it's very normal for

(51:50):
that to happen. I'm glad that she was mature enough
to share a heart with you and to make you
aware of that.

Speaker 14 (51:56):
That's beautiful.

Speaker 1 (51:57):
Well, you know, there may be somebody watching right now
you just kind of stop to watch because you're you're
kind of dealing with the situation with your son or daughter,
And I just want to say that the first and
most important decision that you can make is to invite
Jesus into this process. And how does somebody do that? Doug,
you take a moment, well.

Speaker 13 (52:14):
You know, you might yourself like pull have pulled away
from God, or you might be that prodigal who someone
shared the show with you. If you are that prodigal
You can come home right now. You don't have to
do this to your mom or dad anymore. You don't
have to do this to the Father God. Just say
this prayer with me, say Jesus, Jesus, forgive me of

(52:34):
my sins. I accept your death as full payment.

Speaker 6 (52:38):
I accept your death.

Speaker 14 (52:40):
I make you Lord right now.

Speaker 10 (52:43):
In Jesus.

Speaker 1 (52:44):
Statement Jesus.

Speaker 13 (52:45):
And if you said that prayer, call the number and
screen you would to get a couple of things for you.
But it's so important. And if you have a prodigal
don't be alone. Let people pray with you and walk
with you and be in community. Because wasn't that the
most healing thing when you had other people who knew
your story. There was no shame when you walked in
the room, and when they walked in the room, their
head was up, it wasn't down. And they were among

(53:07):
friends and you were praying for one well, and.

Speaker 6 (53:09):
There were other groups that were starting.

Speaker 1 (53:10):
I did want to mention while we're talking about the
prodigal parent process is the book. Here's the DVD has
almost four hours of Doug teaching, counseling through each chapter
and taking you through the process along with the word book.
So for a one time gift of ninety nine dollars,
you can get all three. The book is twenty if

(53:30):
you just want to get the book, but I recommend
that you get all of it. You told me the
DVD was the most impactful thing for you. I mean
all of it, but that really did.

Speaker 15 (53:39):
It really did, because it was like you have a counselor,
a trained Christian counselor in the room with you speaking
to you, and it brought it more to life and
more real and it was very impactful.

Speaker 1 (53:52):
So in closing, how is Chad today?

Speaker 6 (53:54):
He's amazing.

Speaker 15 (53:55):
He's an entrepreneur, he owns his several businesses.

Speaker 6 (53:59):
And Harvey and I work for him. That's amazing.

Speaker 1 (54:05):
You and Harvey work for him. Now, well you should
and he should pay you. Well, that's awesome. And so
there's hope today. And you know what, it was a
twenty six year walk of believing God till she finally said, Okay, God,
I'm gonna trust you. And that's what the Lord's saying
to many of you today. We are out of time,

(54:26):
but don't you remember that your family is part of
God's design no matter the struggles you face.

Speaker 6 (54:32):
He invites all.

Speaker 1 (54:33):
Who are weary and burden to come to Him for rest.
That scripture says, coming to me all you that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
He wants to give you that rest today in knowing
that you can trust Him. And of course, when you
surrender your family and your relationships, said the Lord, he
brings healing and peace like no other. It's a peace

(54:56):
that passes all understanding. And if you're watching today and
you need prayer, you're dealing with your prodigal now's the
time to go to the phone and call. We'd love
to pray with you. Also, if you prayed that prayer
of salvation with doctor Doug, you can call and we'll
send you the Book of John, the Gospel of John.
It's a great place to start in the Bible. Get
a Bible that you can understand. Start reading that, and

(55:19):
we're excited about what God has for you in the
days of head. You're not alone any longer. You have
Him with you to help you through any situation of life.
I do want to thank Harvey and Darling Johnson for
joining us today. Be sure you pick up a copy
of The Prodigal Parent Process material. You can get it
at Jonilamb dot com slash Prodigal Parent. You get the book,

(55:41):
you can get all three along with the four hours
of teaching and for a gift of ninety nine dollars.
As always, make sure to follow us on all social media.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for full episodes, exclusive content,
and let us know how table talk is touching your
life because we love hearing from you. Of course, you
can also listen to the Joni Table Talk podcast, available

(56:03):
now on all major platforms. I want to thank you
so much for watching. Thank you darling. Now you get
to watch a table talk with your own testimony. I do.
Is that exciting? Make sure you call everybody hand I
was going to say, as a result of you doing groups,
there have been others in other states that have picked
up and started doing groups, and I'm excited about that

(56:23):
as well.

Speaker 6 (56:23):
I'm excited.

Speaker 15 (56:24):
And the recovery center that he graduated from has now
launched a counseling for parents of prodigals because the impact
is so profound.

Speaker 1 (56:33):
When we went over to space, amazing does that bless you?

Speaker 14 (56:36):
It does?

Speaker 13 (56:36):
That was what the vision God gave me. Wouldn't give
me this stuff was like this. This has been church
churches everywhere. Yeah, have to have a group.

Speaker 1 (56:45):
I know you loved a group that God wants to
use you and some of you. You can do a
group in your church and be a blessing. Hey, thank
you for watching. We'll see you next time.

Speaker 9 (56:53):
Bye bye for today.